Advertising standardisation in culturally similar markets

A framework for standardisation of ad content based on cultural and socio-economic similarity among countries is proposed. Advertising standardisation is investigated in the Arab world, a culturally similar setting with socio-economic differences among nations, by carrying out a content analysis of 949 ads from Egypt, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. Extant research suggests that, when advertising in culturally similar markets, advertisers use standardised advertising. We investigate two types of ad content – culturally normative and product-related – and show that culturally normative ad content, such as the depiction of women consistent with societal norms, is predominantly culture driven, and standardisation is appropriate, regardless of socio-economic differences. On the other hand, product-related content such as information content, the use of hedonic vs utilitarian appeals, and the provision of price information are influenced by both cultural and socio-economic factors. Hence, standardisation is not appropriate for productrelated ad content when socio-economic differences exist among culturally similar markets. Thus, conditions under which standardisation of the two types of ad content is appropriate are identified. Implications and suggestions for future research are also offered.